Wild Fire Char Southwest USA fire truck drives past trees charred in the Las Conchas fire in Los Alamos, N.M. on June 30. Firefighters were confident Thursday that they had stopped the advance of the wildfire that headed toward the Los Alamos nuclear lab and the nearby town.These deer seem oblivious to smoke from the Las Conchas fire on June 29.What seems to be a river of smoke winds its way through Cochiti Canyon on June 29.A wall of smoke rises as the Las Conchas Fire burns through a canyon on June 29.Firefighters Tim Adams, right, and Abraham Diaz, both of Apple Valley, Calif., carry a fire hose while battling the Las Conchas fire on June 29.Flames from the Las Conchas Fire burn in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos on the morning of June 28.Flames from the Las Conchas fire burn in the hills above Los Alamos National Laboratory, a vast complex that houses research laboratories and a plutonium facility, on June 27. Authorities said there was little threat to sensitive areas of the 28,000-acre complex, where explosives are stored in underground concrete and steel bunkers.Las Conchas Fire View from West

The sun filters through thick smoke from a wildfire burning near Los Alamos on June 27.Dillon Kerry looks through the charred remains of his home, which was destroyed by a wildfire, in Stoneham, Texas on Friday, June 24. Federal and local officials on Thursday lifted the last of the evacuation orders issued during the fight against the most-destructive wildfire in Southeast Texas.Flames are seen over homes in Sierra Vista, Ariz., on Thursday.Helicopters leave after replenishing their water supply as they battle the Monument Fire in Hereford near Sierra Vista, Ariz. on Thursday afternoon.The Monument fire burns north toward Sierra Vista, Ariz., on June 15.A plane drops fire retardant to protect a neighborhood near Sierra Vista, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 14.A slurry bomber drops its load while fighting the Track fire at the Raton Pass in Northern New Mexico on June 13.Elks escape the wildfire in the forest around the Lee Valley recreational area in the Apache National Forest during back burn operations as the Wallow fire continues to burn June 12 in Big Lake, Ariz.Smoke rises as firefighters battle the Wallow Fire in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Ariz., June 12.A firefighter sets a backburn to fight the Wallow Fire in Nutrioso, Ariz., on June 10.Smoke rises from the Wallow Fire as it burns toward homes south of Eagar, Ariz., on June 9. After reportedly being sparked by a campfire, the blaze has become the second-largest wildfire in state history and is still growing.A firefighter starts a backburn operation in an attempt to control the Wallow Fire along Highway 260 near Eagar on June 9.Fire crew members sharpen their tools as they prepare for a backburn operation in Eagar, Ariz., on Wednesday, June 8. A raging forest fire in eastern Arizona has scorched an area the size of Phoenix, threatening thousands of residents and emptying towns as the flames moved toward New Mexico.Miles of smoke billow skyward from the Wallow Fire on June 7 near Greer, Arizona. Officials say the blaze has already burned 486 square miles and winds have been driving the flames 5 to 8 miles a day since the fire began a week ago.Massive Arizona Wildfire Heads Toward New Mexico

Smoke from the Wallow Wildfire surround trees in Eagar, Ariz. June 7.

Midwest FloodsHomes are surrounded by floodwaters near Blair, Neb., on Wednesday, June 29. Missouri River floodwaters lapped at a nuclear power plant north of Omaha and cracked more defenses downstream after weeks of sustained pressure on levees running hundreds of miles.Ron Bachman, owner of St. Joseph Petroleum in St. Joseph, Mo., wades through Missouri River floodwaters to inspect his property on June 28.City employees spread plastic across a sandbag levee on train tracks in St. Joseph, Mo., on June 28.Tim Hogan pulls a jon boat behind his jet ski as he floats down Waterworks Road on June 28 in St. Joseph, Mo. Hogan was going to his rental home to retrieve what he could from the flooded property.A figure of a worker, part of the Monument to Labor statue by Matthew Placzek, juts out of the rising waters of the Missouri River at Omaha's Lewis & Clark Landing in Omaha, Neb., on June 26. The Missouri River, swollen by heavy rains and melting snow, has been flooding areas from Montana through Missouri.A U.S. Air Force jet flies over flooded Iowa farm grounds east of Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska on June 24.An aerial view of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant in eastern Nebraska, surrounded by Missouri River floodwaters on June 24.An aerial view of Missouri River floodwaters rising above the Mormon bridge connecting Nebraska and Iowa, on the north side of Omaha June 24.Water from the Missouri River surges over a failed levee near Rock Port, Missouri, on June 24.Jerry and Mary Murr take a boat to their home in Corning, Mo. on June 23. Floodwaters from the Missouri River covered the town earlier in the week.Dalton Nowling watches water from the Missouri River approach a flood wall he and other residents built in Craig, Mo., on June 23.

Minot, North DakodaFloodwater from the Souris River surrounds the Ramstad Jr. High School in Minot on Monday, June 27.This June 25 satellite image provided by GeoEye shows flooding due to the cresting of the Souris River in Minot. Mayor Curt Zimbelman says demolition might be the only solution for nearly one-fifth of the homes in the city that have been damaged by Souris River flooding.Floodwater from the Souris River surrounds homes on the right, as others sit dry in Minot, N.D., on Monday, June 27. Just 375 of the 4,000 homes in flooded areas were insured for floods, FEMA spokesman John Ashton said.Floodwaters from the Souris River surround homes on 3rd St. N.W. near Minot State University June 27 in Minot, N.D.The National Guard provides two large "bladders," water tanks that hold thousands of gallons of water, one for non-potable water and one for potable water, for the water supply to Trinity Hospital in downtown Minot, N. D., near the Souris River in Minot June 27. There have been no reported deaths or injuries in the biggest flood in area history but floodwaters have all but swallowed more than 3,000 homes and displaced more than 12,000 Minot-area residents.

Minot Flood Aerial Tour: Fri, June 24, 2011

Mobile homes are submerged in floodwater as the Souris River crests as seen from the air June 26 in Minot, North Dakota.Businesses are surrounded by floodwaters as the Souris River crests, June 26, in Minot, N.D. The Souris River surpassed its 1881 record level of 1,558 feet above sea level, flooding an estimated 4,000 homes in the city.Federal workers use a boat to take North Dakota National Guard engineers off their equipment after securing cables to a pedestrian bridge over the flooding Souris River on Saturday, June 25, in Minot, N.D. The plan to drag the debris-filled bridge into a railyard parking lot was suspended because of lightning in the area.Homes are reflected in floodwaters, with the earthen levee of one house, center, appearing to remain intact in Minot on June 25.Rescue workers help a man who was trapped when his car stalled in flooding from the Souris River on Highway 52 south of Minot, June 25.A railroad line is covered by floodwater from the Souris River on June 25 in Minot.Floodwaters of the Souris River breach a levee and flood a neighborhood on June 24 in Minot.Flood waters begin to pour through a breached levee and and around the Minot Country Club on June 23 in Minot. Officials in North Dakota's fourth-largest city said Thursday they had done all they could to protect critical infrastructure from the rising Souris River as it headed toward a record flood.Volunteers race to add two more feet of sand bags to a massive dike around Mary Dittus' family gas station. Higher crest estimates of the Souris River flood waters were announced and more evacuations were ordered in Minot, on Thursday.Sounthbound traffic is backed up on the Highway 83 bypass as residents flee the rising flood waters from the Souris river, Thursday, in Minot.Zach Peterson measures the height of a dike to prepare for Souris River floodwaters in Minot, on June 23.National Guard personnel and members of the media watch as floodwaters from the Souris River threaten residential property as flood water is over topping earthen dikes in Minot, North Dakota on Thursday.Members of the North Dakota National Guard work through the night building dikes as the Souris River floodwaters rise in Minot, N.D., early on June 23.Soldiers with the North Dakota National Guard place sandbags on a temporary levee in Minot, N.D., on June 22. Some 500 soldiers were in the town of 40,000.Other parts of North Dakota are getting hit by flooding on the Missouri River. This home near Bismarck was being swallowed up by Missouri River waters on June 22.06.24.11 Minot Flood Fight: HOPE RISE

Deadly Storm Rake MidwestPatrick O'Banion salvages items from his devastated home in Joplin, Mo., on Monday, May 30.Katlyn Wilkins, in tree, and Andrea Wilkins Morelli work on securing an American flag on May 29 in Joplin.President Barack Obama and residents view tornado damage on May 29 in Joplin.Joplin residents stand for a moment of silence during a memorial service on May 29, marking the one week anniversary of an EF-5 tornado which ripped a six mile long path of destruction through Joplin..Matt Teel cleans off a Jesus statue after it was found in the ruins of St. Mary's Church in Joplin on May 28. As the town continues to recover from the treacherous storm over 150 people are still missing. Funerals are being planned.Tracey Presslor comforts friends and classmates of her nephew Will Norton on May 28 in Joplin. Family members had said Norton and his father were on the road when the storm hit. The teen's Hummer H3 flipped several times, throwing him from the vehicle, likely through the sunroof. His body was found in a pond near the truck.Stephen Dickson stands in front of his parent's home while on the lookout for looters at dusk in Joplin on May 27. Although the house has no roof, Dickson sometimes sleeps in the home to protect it from looting.The remains of a destroyed tree in Joplin on May 27, five days after a massive tornado passed through the town.Debris is seen near Joplin High School on May 27 in Joplin.During a driving rain storm, Tracy Rogers, center, and others look for items to salvage from a friend's destroyed home on May 27 in Joplin.A vault is all that remains of the Commerce Bank in a devastated Joplin neighborhood on May 27.Devastating Joplin, Missouri EF-5 Tornado - May 22, 2011

Scott Anderson reaches for a piece of debris on May 27 near his heavily damaged home in Joplin. Anderson said, "It's like they dropped a bomb on us." The town continues the process of recovering from the storm which damaged or destroyed an estimated 8,000 structures.Flags are placed around what's left of Joplin High School on May 26.Robert Elbert hands a photograph of Stephanie Elbert's mother and father to her after they found it among the remains of their house on May 26 in Joplin.Severe storms blew across the Midwest on May 25, hitting places like this trailer park in Bloomington, Ind. A few minor injuries were reported.An aerial image of Joplin, Mo., shot on May 24, shows the remains of Joplin High School two days after an EF5 tornado touched down and destroyed a large portion of the town. The image was collected by digital imaging aircraft owned by M.J. Harden, a GeoEye Company. Harden flew an emergency mission for Missouri state officials to provide insight on relief efforts and emergency response.Family and friends of a tornado victim clean-up and sort through debris on May 25 at a mobile home in Chickasha, Okla.Rebecca Watts walks by a car stuck in a tree after a tornado hit north of El Reno, Okla. on May 24. The high-powered storms arrived Tuesday night and early Wednesday, just days after a massive tornado tore up the southwest Missouri city of Joplin.An official searches for a missing child near the lake shore after a tornado ripped through the Falcon Lake area of Piedmont, Oklahoma, on May 24. Several tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon, the largest one striking El Reno, west of Oklahoma City, and continuing to the northeast, the National Weather Service said.A half-mile-wide tornado moves north towards Piedmont, Okla., on May 24.Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas Monster Tornado

Neighbors pitch in to help recover items out of the home of Scott and M'Lynn McCann that was destroyed by a tornado west of El Reno, Okla., on May 24.Armando Castillo retrieves personal items out of his truck that he was driving when it was swept off I-40 and destroyed by a tornado west of El Reno, Okla., on May 24.The path of the powerful tornado that destroyed a 6-mile-long swath of Joplin, Mo. is seen May 24.Mangled cars are inside a destroyed Joplin apartment complex on May 24.A vehicle on May 24 sits in the debris of a cell phone tower that collapsed onto an apartment building on the east side of Joplin.The hard-hit St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin as well as dozens of destroyed homes are seen on May 24.A police officer sits in his vehicle facing what is left of the high schoolin Joplin on May 23.Joplin was not the only area that saw a twister over the weekend. Reading, Kan., also was hit, with one person killed. This grain elevator was part of the debris field there on May 23.Rescue workers in lime-green jackets search St. John's hospital in Joplin, Mo., May 23.A shelf cloud containing a thunderstorm approaches tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., on May 23. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital, hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 89 people.Emergency vehicles line up along northbound Rangeline Road in Joplin, Mo. after the tornado swept through the city on Sunday evening.Joplin residents help a woman who survived in her basement when the tornado hit the city on Sunday.A destroyed helicopter lies on its side in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., on May 22.A woman talks on the phone from a roofless garage after a tornado struck northern Minneapolis, May 22, causing extensive property damage, killing at least one person and injuring at least 18 others.This photo taken Saturday, May 21, looking east from S.W. 37th and Wanamaker shows funnel clouds above Topeka, Kan., at around 6:20 p.m.Damage to the Reading, Kan., post office caused by a tornado is shown May 22.Lightning from a severe thunderstorm flashes in the distance beyond a crucifix in a cemetery near Easton, Kan., Saturday, May 21.

Temps top 100, and still rising July 12, 2011

A stretch of 23 states from Texas to New York were baking Tuesday with temperatures in the 90s and 100s -- and heat indices that make it feel closer to 115 in some parts.

Even before noon, some cities already saw temperatures in the 90s. Little Rock, Ark., was at 94 (102 with the heat index factored in); Nashville, Tenn., at 93. St. Louis, Mo., was at 91.

Forecasters say the extreme heat could continue for most of the week and perhaps beyond. At the same time, many people won't be able to cool off by taking a dip: Swimming pools in some cities have closed because of budget cuts.

Nearly two dozen states in the Midwest, South and East are under heat alerts.

"It says a lot when you are dealing with such an expansive area of heat alerts," said National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro.

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The heat index at 4.15 p.m. ET Tuesday showed many areas feeling the effects of high temperatures and humidity.

Hot temperatures were also expected to continue from Kansas through the Ohio Valley in the Midwest and across the South, he added. Roth said "the very hot temperatures" combined with "oppressive humidity" could result in heat indices of 100 to 120 degrees Tuesday afternoon in both these regions.

However, Roth added there would be some relief in the Northeast later in the day, with a cold front expected to move into northern New York and northern New England, and then head south through the region into Wednesday.

"Much cooler temperatures move in behind the front tonight and Wednesday in northern areas and Wednesday night and Thursday in southern areas," he said.

As a result, the heat on the East Coast is not expected to be as intense.

"For the most part it's a one day heat wave," Vaccaro said.

Northeast power grid operators said they have enough power resources to meet expected high demand Tuesday as consumers crank up their air conditioners.

Some thunderstorms were possible in northern New York and Northern New England Tuesday afternoon, Roth said. Some of those could be "severe, producing damaging wind gusts and hail."